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"Economic Development Marketing Letter"
A Blane, Canada Ltd. Publication
Nationally Recognized Experts On Economic Development Marketing and Retention
June 2001, Volume 4, Issue e/6, ISBN 1527-5175 ~~~Synchronist Business Information System software users... will converge in Chicago Sept. 21-22 for networking, obtaining version 3.0, discussing web-based capability, and how data can be used in attracting new business. (P.S. Synchronist is the software we designed for existing business, retention & expansion, applications.) For more detailed info on the System’s reporting capabilities, check out http://www.blanecanada.com ~~~Reference resources... Try out http://www.refdesk.com and http://www.findarticles.com for research. Refdesk.com connects you with online newspaper sites, experts, advice, almanacs, quotes, census data, etc. Findarticles.com provides access to articles and provides a brief abstract to help users decide if the article is relevant. The articles are formatted for printing from that site, which is a handy feature. ~~~Constantly shifting popularity... of search engines seems to put http://www.google.com on top today. Google is followed by http://www.about.com, http://www.altavista.com and the ever present http://www.yahoo.com. ~~~Drawn to color... Some of you colorize the last part of your e-mail communications, the sig (signature) file as a single block. George Lake in Independence, IA does something different from all the rest of us. He colorizes each separate piece of data in the sig file. As a result, the reader’s eye moves to that area, rather than ignoring the additional info. Good thinking, George! ~~~Still hammering away?... Noted psychologist, Abraham Maslow said, “If every tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.” Marketers instinctively think promotion. Many tend to keep hammering away with the same old tools without understanding the problem could be in any of the other critical marketing variables: product, price, place, and people. True marketers work all five variables. ~~~We’re deep... in the Age of Skepticism where prospects discount EVERYTHING said by a marketer. “Your Partner in...” is a common cliché in economic development materials. If you are using the partner approach, how are you acting to reduce risk for your prospect? If the risk is all theirs, then you are not much of a partner and they know it. ~~~Strategy... is not a lengthy action plan. It is the evolution of a central idea through changing circumstances. (Karl von Clausewitz, military strategist) ~~~Investments... How do you evaluate yours? Consider the corporate investments within your area as if it was your personal investment portfolio. Where would you go to investigate a company’s strength, competitive position, and the trends within the industry? Try Value Line’s web site or go to the library. ~~~IEDC... the newly created International Economic Development Council, headquartered in Washington, DC has a superb motto for ED professionals: One Source, One Voice, One Force. Check out the conference calendar at http://www.iedconline.org ~~~Talking with a major fast food exec... who mentioned an anticipated re-engineering of production area in order to cut labor costs? Why do we include this in the newsletter? Companies that build equipment for fast food operations see an expanded market opportunity. ~~~Query from TX... Doug Frazior, League City, TX asks for ideas on how to get local elected officials to understand that incentives are sometimes necessary to win the prospect. Write us with your thoughts. info@blanecanada.com ~~~VIRUS!... Because of our broad exposure, we periodically pick up a computer virus. An anti-virus program prevents some from being passed to you. Some become immediately apparent. Others are like time bombs, waiting to do damage. For those without such protection, we recommend you load an anti-virus fighter. ~~~Who are you out there?... Peoples’ titles catch our attention. Here are some that might tell you about the strategic importance of some economic development positions: Client Solutions Director; Program Manager of Strategic Initiatives; VP of Industrial Marketing; Corporate Visitation Manager. ~~~Map strategies... Try http://www.maps.com for driving directions, a world atlas, and online topo maps. ~~~Old wireless phone... taking up space in your drawer? Donate it to help a domestic violence victim. The phones are preprogrammed with 911 and other emergency numbers so that domestic violence victims can access local emergency services and domestic violence hotline numbers at the touch of a button. Drop off your old wireless phone at any Radio Shack store by July 31st or http://www.donateaphone.com for mailing instructions. Sponsored by the Wireless Foundation, Motorola and The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. ~~~Ignition points... “We find the creative breakthroughs come from ignition points that come from individuals’ minds. You can’t think together, but working together there are more frequent and better ignition points.” Bruce Kuwabara, KPMB, Toronto architectural firm. ~~~Reverse directories... allow you to locate businesses or people by their phone number. Available on the web at http://www.infospace.com/reverse.htm. ~~~Incubate... National Business Incubation Association, NBIA, held its annual conference in California in May. If you attended and want to share insights with other readers, please notify us. ~~~Plan B... When receptionist gatekeepers say, “Would you like to leave a message?” say this: “Yes, thanks for asking but it’s a rather long message. I have an idea. Let me save us both some time. Please give me Ms. Bigshot’s fax number. I’ll fax my message, your switch-board sounds busy.” You’ll usually get the number. (I like to fax notes on an oversized “While You Were Out” form - this gets great results!) Source: Tips On Selling To VITOs (Very Important Top Officer), Anthony Parinello, http://www.salesrepcentral.com/ ~~~Support ++... “I would like to use the Synchronist System for our efforts with the retention program, but we are unable to locate the program at our offices. We moved to a new facility last August and new computers were installed at that time. As you know the exec who purchased it had already left, so no one knows what happened to the Synchronist software. If you can help us recover the program we purchased we would be most grateful.” No problem! Synchronist technical support sent a packet of information immediately and down-loaded the most recently upgraded software, and offered to help train staff at no additional cost. ~~~Extra time available?... Go take a walk through our web site. You can access past e-mail newsletter issues or conduct a search for a specific topic. http://www.blanecanada.com
Blane, Canada Ltd.
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